A quick way to find the right beach

Need to know now whether there's a beach around that allows dogs? Or has parking? Or restrooms or restaurants?

A searchable database of Florida beaches has just expanded to include Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and nine other coastal counties.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection's database allows you to search beaches by amenity, whether it's lifeguards, handicapped access or RV parking or other categories. Go to http://www.dep.state.fl.us/cmp/beachaccess.